Ruling on the purity of a liquid if a dead house gecko falls into it

27-8-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalamu alaikum. Is a dead lizard(the small ones found in the houses), ant, mosquito and other insects najis? Is the dung/feces of one of these animals najis?If the dung/feces of a lizard is najis and it fell on a rice(about to be cooked) with water(less than or about half a liter) then how can I clean it?or do I have to throw away the rice? I have a basin of water and there was 2 or 3 dung/feces of a lizard in it, some(not all) of the water evaporated and it was refilled again by rain water. This evaporation and refill process a couple of times.Is the water in it after those couple of times of evaporation and refill process still najis? If the water which a najasa fell over it and became najis sticked to my cloth, will even a small amount of it nullify my prayer? If not, how much is small amount? How many drops for example?
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

The lizard known as a house gecko as well as ants, flies, and similar insects that do not have flowing blood do not make the water or any other liquid impure if they fall into it. The Shaafi‘i scholar Ar-Ramli may Allaah have mercy upon him wrote, “Excluded from what is impure are dead [animals] that do not have blood that flows from the site of injury, either because it does not have blood in first place, or it does not have blood that runs, such as the house gecko, hornet, beetle and flies. It does not make liquids such as oil and vinegar impure if it falls into them. Their carcasses do not make any moist substance impure if they die inside it, according to the famous opinion (in the Shaafi'i School), given the difficulty of avoiding such a thing. In addition, Al-Bukhari may Allaah have mercy upon him reported, ‘If a fly falls into the drink of any one of you, he should dip it fully (in the drink), and then take it out, for one of its wings has a disease and the other has the cure.’ The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, commanded us to submerge a housefly, which falls into a drink, fully in the drink and this will, of course, cause the fly to die. If a dead housefly were impure, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would not have commanded us to do so. Scholars drew an analogy between the housefly in this case and other dead insects or animals which do not have flowing blood and excluded those who have flowing blood such as snakes and frogs from this ruling.” [An-Nihaayah]

For more benefit, please, refer to Fatwa 38312.

If the gecko does not have flowing blood, its excretions are considered pure as highlighted earlier. Ibn Qudaamah may Allaah have mercy upon him wrote, “The second type is the animals and insects which do not have flowing blood; they are pure including all their body parts and excretions…” [Al-Mughni]

Hence, it is clear that the excretions of the gecko that fell on the rice do not render it impure.

However, if an impurity fell into water and rendered it impure and few drops of this impure water tainted the garment, scholars held different opinions in this regard:

The Shaafi‘i scholars maintained that a few drops of impure water is pardonable and it is not incumbent on the person to wash the garment.

The Maaliki scholars held the same opinion in cases when it is difficult to avoid the impurity such as the case when flies tint a spot by their legs carrying traces of impurity such as urine or feces.

Other scholars believed that insignificant impurities are not pardoned and have to be washed, especially feces and urine, and that prayer performed in a garment bearing traces of an impurity is invalid. Al-Buhooti may Allaah have mercy upon him wrote, “A chapter on ‘A small amount of impurity is not pardoned even if invisible.’ For instance, the traces of impurities on the legs of the flies and the like are not pardoned or overlooked, given the general indication of the verse that reads (what means): {And your clothing purify.} [Quran 74:4] ..... If the small amount of impurity (of blood or pus) exits from the private parts, they are not pardoned because they take the same ruling of urine or feces.” [Kashshaaf Al-Qinaa‘]

Perhaps the latter opinion is the preponderant one, except for when it is very difficult to avoid the impurity and when it is invisible in order to avoid the difficulty.

Finally, the criterion in considering an impurity insignificant (and can be pardoned and overlooked) is left to the common custom of people. Al-Khateeb Al-Shirbeeni may Allaah have mercy upon him said in his book Mughni Al-Muhtaaj (A Shaafi'e book), ‘Our Shaykh, Zakariyya Al-Ansaari may Allaah have mercy upon him held that the preponderant opinion in this regard is that the criterion in considering an impurity insignificant (and can be pardoned and overlooked) is left to the common custom of people. This is a sound and good opinion.’”

Allaah Knows best.

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